Fall 2014 Season

[I Have No Idea]

Do you have to resend GRE scores if you're reapplying to the same place?

[janeiro]

I'd assume no, as long as the scores are still valid, but maybe email the grad admissions officer and double check.

 

That sucks about Vanderbilt, do you think they are just ending the MA program altogether?

 

Anyway, I guess I'll introduce myself here: I'm applying only PhD programs and my main interests are Ancient Philosophy (particularly Plato and the Platonic tradition), intellectual history, and philosophy of language. Good luck to everyone this year!

[ἠφανισμένος]

Welcome, janeiro.  Where are you applying?

 

IHNI, the one school I'm reapplying to informed me that they still had my GRE scores on file from a couple of years ago. But as janeiro said, it could vary by school, so you'd want to double-check.

[Furcifera]

Hey, Janeiro. Welcome to the board, and good luck to you as well. How have your applications been going?

 

As to whether or not this signals a suspension of the program or just a temporary financial issue, I'm not sure. Though, there's been some hear-say about young faculty and tenure denials which tilt my suspicions a bit. But that's neither here nor there.

 

Now I'm stuck trying to decide whether I should bother my letter writers to submit to a new school or stay with the unsatisfactorily odd 9 school list. Hmmm.

 

Petros, if I lived anywhere near you, we could go out for sympathy gins. Are you going to stick with your current 5? And I'm glad now that I grumbled about it on GradCafe, if just to save you some time and moolah.

[kingharvest]

Hi,

 

I'm applying to (many) PhD programs this year.  OSU, UChicago (PAMW), Princeton (AMW), UPenn (Ancient History), Harvard, Columbia (Classical Studies), NYU, Cornell, and UMich.

 

I'm interested in Greek and Near Eastern interactions in literature during the Archaic Age.  So I play around with Hebrew and Akkadian as well as Greek and Latin.  Hopefully, eventually Ugaritic, Egyptian, and Aramaic as well.

[I Have No Idea]

Haa king that's oddly similar to what I'm after though I stupidly ruined my first sop by not talking about the archaic world enough and my language CV is woefully out of date (I accidentally sent my masters one...so..yeah).

[comicline865]

You ought to send an urgent correction via email. Languages are probably the most important part of your application, and if the error is not minor, it will be worth it.

[I Have No Idea]

No, the languages that have been updated aren't either the classical ones (Greek and Latin) or research languages (French, German, Italian) but auxiliary ones they probably won't care about - near Eastern ones, certain old PIE ones. I get the impression that no one cares so...

[kingharvest]

What are your research interests?  I'm mostly interested in the David and Goliath scene as possibly influenced by duel scenes in the Iliad and other topics related to the Philistines.

[ἠφανισμένος]

Furcifera, I'm glad you mentioned it too.  I'd heard the same stuff about bizarre tenure denials; who knows!

 

I may just stick with five, but I'm thinking of adding Kansas and/or WUSTL.  The Jan. 15 deadline for the latter may be a problem, though, since they want hard copies of transcripts.

[Furcifera]

Well, I won't be much help with deciding between those-- they're both on my list. Anthony Corbeill is both as nice and helpful as everyone suggested; Cathy Marler, who is organizing the WUStL apps, is way organized and on top of things. I bet if you send the transcripts now, they'll get there in time.

[Gladiatrix77]

Hello, 

 

I'm a classics major and an archaeology minor, and I'm planning on applying to MA programs in classical archaeology next fall. I'm concerned because I recently received a "C" as a final grade in Latin 201. I have gotten all A's and A-'s in classics, history and archaeology courses (except for a B in Middle-Eastern Archaeology and a B+ in Latin 102 but it had been an A- most of the semester!), and I certainly haven't gotten any C's except for in a few gen ed classes. The Latin 201 professor didn't have our class very organized and even the Latin tutor got some C's in this class. We never knew what to expect on our tests and it was a nightmare. I am really worried about this one class hurting my chances of getting into the programs I'm interested in! 

 

In addition to the rest of my good grades in classics courses I have presented research papers at undergraduate conferences and am planning on doing a field school this year, which I am also going to do a project on. I've also done a couple of independent studies. I have three more semesters in Latin and I am going to do well in them, but will that one "C" really hurt my chances of getting into the programs I'm interested in? I am really looking for peace of mind. 

 

[comicline865]

You're probably fine. Languages aren't nearly as important for archaeology as if you were interested in, say, literature or philosophy. If there is a reason you will need to have good Latin skills for your course of study and you think that the "C" is unrepresentative of your skills, consider explaining it (either in your SOP or elsewhere).

 

It's a bit difficult to say how the committee will respond without knowing where you're applying. If you're shooting for the really top programs, what will concern the committee more is that you've only gone so far as 201/202, not that you got a C (especially if the rest of your record is strong). Do you have any Greek?

 

Don't worry too much on the whole. One C is virtually never enough to change someone's decision about your admission, especially if the rest of your application is strong.

Edited December 20, 2013 by Starbuck

[Gladiatrix77]

That does make me feel a little better - I do have 3 more semesters of Latin so hopefully they will overpower the C on my transcript. I do have some Greek as well! I just want to have a working knowledge of both of the languages so I can read inscriptions.

The programs I'm thinking about are FSU, University Colorado (Boulder), University of Alberta, Kent, and Edinburgh. Has anyone here applied or know people who have applied and been accepted into any of these programs?

[kingharvest]

I know several people at Boulder.  They really like it.

[Gladiatrix77]

Yeah at Boulder I am most interested in Dr. Conlin's work on the Villa of Maxentius but I am trying to find out if they are stronger in Greek or Roman archaeology, as I am more interested in Roman.

[Statianus]

I also applied to Boulder, though I'm not an archaeologist. Also applying to (in alphabetic order...) Cornell, Chicago, Harvard, Illinois, Michigan, Princeton, Toronto, Yale. Broadly interested in Roman epic and Flavian literature. 

[alpheratz]

So I might be a little bit late on this one, but what the hellassballs are the supplemental materials required for Yale Classics?  I just sort of *assumed* it required the standard 3 recs, personal statement, and writing sample (I'd choose between my undergrad thesis and the 17pp version of my undergrad thesis as appropriate).  I can't find anything on their website that explicitly states that.  TBH I haven't really cared that much about that application since I found out that the professor I'm interested in was retiring (hence waiting til the 11th hour to ask this question), but still.

[Statianus]

It's only if applicable and not necessarily required. I suppose they allow multiple documents to be uploaded if you are submitting two smaller pieces for your writing sample or if you need to submit a folio. 

[I Have No Idea]

What do I do about these Harvard summary of course things? Do you sit there and fill out every detail even if its extensively covered in a) references and transcriptum? Mary's son, will they even read it?

[alpheratz]

There's a limit to the number of courses you can put and a (rather small) character limit.  I'm pretty sure the "summary of courses" section only exists so they don't have to bother with reading your transcript.  I wound up just reiterating everything that was on my transcript.  I think it's also much more relevant for those who didn't major in Classics to demonstrate that they took Classics courses in school.  

[I Have No Idea]

I went cavalier and skipped it. Everything in my degree is relevant. 

[kingharvest]

Just heard back from OSU.  I got in.  Hopefully this bodes well for me getting into a school besides my safety!

[Furcifera]

1) Congratulations! 2) Ahhhh, the season is upon us! 

[comicline865]

Exciting.

 

It's *likely* that accepted applicants to UChicago, UC-Berkeley, and possibly Stanford will hear back within two weeks, give or take. (More could be added to this list, I'm sure.)